When the snow flies and the girls get new Winter coats (in completely different color schemes from the previous year), new headwear gets crocheted...well, at least in this house!

Liv loves a hood, so I knew a hooded scarf would be the perfect fit for her. I was inspired by this Star Spider Cowl pattern, but kind of went off on my own a bit in how I shaped Olivia's cowl. I knew that it needed to sit back a bit so her face could show (and she could see while out playing). I made the hood portion a bit tight so that it would stay on her head when she was running about. And I changed up the cowl portion so that it was a bit thicker/less holey of a stitch. I used one strand of Caron Simply Soft Party in Snow Sparkle and one strand of Caron Simply Soft Paints in Rainbow Bright at the same time. Super thick, sparkly and rainbow all at once!

EJ's winter needs are even more specific and many! She tends to wear an ear-band often in the Fall and Spring to protect her ears from the wind, so I made one of those first. I do not remember what stitch I used (something simple and thick to block the wind). I used two strands together again - one strand of Caron Simply Soft Party in Purple Sparkle and one of Caron Simply Soft Paints in Oceana.

Her hat is made from the No More Snow! pattern with some adjustments for size. The top portion is Caron Simply Soft Paints in Oceana and the border is the two strands held together (as described for the ear-band).

EJ also wanted a cowl (although it is not used as often as it could be). I made the main part of the cowl in the Purple Sparkle in single crochet and did a scallop edge on the top and bottom in Oceana. Then I cross-stitched a heart shape in Oceana on the cowl (single crochet makes an excellent gird for crocheting).

It may be extra work each year, but it is pretty nice to see my kids wearing something I made (and asking me to make something). I like that they choose the yarns each year (they are always a little crazier than I would chose) and I love hearing them proudly tell people that I made their hats. I hope they keep asking me to make them things for a long time!